Rahzar is a tertiary (formerly secondary) antagonist in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He was originally a human martial arts star and top student of Shredder's named Chris Bradford. He is now a super mutant Akita (formerly a regular muntant Akita) who is one of Shredder's hench-mutants, along with his partner, Fishface. He is also Michelangelo and Fishface's rival.

Shredder's Alpha Dog

Contents

Official Description

"I was a ninja who became a mutt, but after a second mutagen bath I became a genuine BEAST! As Dogpound I was good but as Rahzar I’m deadly… and stealthy! Now it’s time to show the Turtles who’s the alpha dawg around here!"

-Rahzar

As Chris Bradford

Early Life

As human

Not much is known about Chris Bradford's origin except the clue that he was born in 1979 in New York City into a wealthy family and that he spent years being trained as a prized-member of the Foot Clan in Shredder's image, owning a chain of dojos across the country for the purpose of recruiting Foot Soldiers.

Season 1

New Friend, Old Enemy: When Bradford makes his debut in this episode, he is ordered by Shredder to work with Xever to uncover Hamato Yoshi and his supposed army of ninja. It is shown that Michelangelo is a big fan of him, and wants to be his friend. Bradford accepts Mikey's friend request on a website, and Mikey goes to meet him. Bradford originally attacks Mikey, and then remembers his first encounter with him and the other Turtles when he was with the Foot Clan. Bradford makes Mikey believe he is friendly and acts like Mikey's friend for the rest of the episode. When Mikey goes to hang out with him again, Bradford is in his battle armor and sneaks up against Mikey, who doesn't know that it was Bradford. He and Xever attack Mikey, and they tie him up as bait for the other Turtles. When Mikey finds out that it was Bradford, he was very sad. The Turtles rescue Mikey and bring him back to the sewers, but Bradford, Xever, and the Foot were watching them from a rooftop. They then go into the sewers, but the Turtles knew it was a trap all along, and they take out the foot soldiers one by one. They then have to battle Bradford and Xever, and have a hard time doing it. Mikey then uses a kata that Bradford taught him against him, and the other Turtles lure Bradford and Xever towards an opening in the sewer. They have them trapped, and Leonardo turns a crank, causing all the water and sewage to spew out of the opening and hit Bradford and Xever and it plunges them further down into the sewer. At the end of the episode, Mikey unfriends Bradford as his "Revenge".

Never Say Xever: Having disappointed Shredder, Bradford is put under Xever's command. The two enlist the help of the Purple Dragons street gang to find the Turtles. When Xever takes the Turtles' friend Murakami hostage, the Turtles take Bradford hostage in return. The deal breaks down, and Bradford is able to free himself and take part in the battle but he and Xever end up being washed away yet again by a giant rush of water.

Season 3

As Dogpound

Season 1

The Gauntlet: Bradford is bitten by Shredder's pet Akita Hatchiko at the beginning of the episode. Later, He fights the Turtles with Xever on top of Wolf Hotel. When they are trapped and can't get away, Bradford says "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me", and breaks a huge container of Mutagen with his sword, as a last ditch effort to destroy them. It only washes away he and Xever though, and they fall down the building, getting covered in the mutagen on the way down. Bradford, having recently got bitten by Hatchiko, mutates into a 8-foot-tall humanoid Akita with a large left arm and many large, jagged spikes. He climbs back up just before Shredder can deliver the final blow to Leo, distracting Shredder. The Turtles get away, and Shredder is furious.

Panic In The Sewers: Bradford was seen guarding Shredder's hideout. The Turtles fought him and soon found out that he was much too strong for them to defeat. After this fight Mikey gives him the nickname "Dogpound". Dogpound also participated in the hijacking of the tanker truck and fought the turtles again. Though they couldn't defeat him outright, they were still able to stop the plan to flood the sewers with the dangerous acid.

Mousers Attack!: Dogpound has taken over the Purple Dragons since Fishface's mutation and is enjoying Fishface's predicament, torturing him by tapping on the glass of his tank. When one of the Dragons brings him April O'Neil's phone he realizes how valuable it could be if it belonged to a friend of the turtles. When the other gang members bring in Baxter Stockman, Dogpound enlists him to hack the phone. When Donnie and Mikey, who split up from their brothers due to being treated like they're second rate, try to get it back, they are taken captive by Bradford who decides to keep them in case the phone didn't show where the lair was. The youngest were eventually rescued by their eldest brothers. The turtles then manage to defeat him by turning an army of Mousers on him, thanks to Donnie and Mikey, which gets them respect from their brothers He flees, grabbing Stockman on the way. He brings him to Shredder who decides to use the scientists' talents to his advantage.

The Alien Agenda: Dogpound does not act much other that making fun of Fishface's new legs.

Baxter's Gambit: Dogpound returns along with Fishface and the two abuse and threaten Stockman. He and Fishface are bait for themselves and the Turtles into the Maze of Doom. He makes a temporary truce with the gang. In the labyrinth, he is stuck with Donni, Mikey, and Leo. In the end he and company fight Stockman and then go back to their base because they are just to exhausted to fight once more.

Pulverizer Returns: In the beginning Dogpound is being beaten by Shredder due to the latest failure in defeating the turtles. Later him, Fishface, and foot clan members attack the turtles, who have different weapons, while trying to steal mutagen from the Kraang. Later he is there when the Pulverizer mutates and tries to kill him and the turtles by locking them in a warehouse. However, they all escape destroying the mutagen in the process.

Showdown: As he and Fishface are awaiting Splinter's arrival, he is questioned by Fishface on who Hamato Yoshi was. Dogpound explains the story to him. After Splinter defeats the other Foot Clan members, he defeats Dogpound and Fishface.

As Rahzar

Season 2

Mikey Gets Shellacne: Dogpound falls into a vat of mutagen and mutates into a skeletal werewolf with a silver tone of fur, a longer snout and larger teeth. When he comes out, he tells Mikey that he feels like a ninja again, because he is more powerful now, and says he will thank Mikey by making his end swift. He also tells Mikey to not call him dog anymore, so Mikey gives him an even better nickname, "Rahzar". He was electrocuted but he will return.

Vengeance is Mine: He and Fishface were distracted by Michelangelo's shadow puppet skills. During the fight, he scratched Mikey on his left arm. Rahzar then fell off the building and landed in a trash bin.

The Invasion: He only appeared shortly giving the news about Leonardo. But then gets beat up by Leo but he's still well enough to fight back.

Season 3

Vision Quest: Rahzar returns as a spiritual vision fighting Mystic Michelangelo with the aid of the Foot Soldiers.

Serpent Hunt: Along with Fishface, Rahzar is tasked by Shredder to hunt the mutated Karai. The two ambush the Turtles and Karai within the warehouse and manage to capture Karai. However, the duo begin to fight over who will take her to Shredder, which leads to Anton Zeck stealing Fishface's motorcycle and Karai herself. Rahzar is later seen fighting Steranko and following the capture of both him and Zeck, laughs at the fate of mutation for the two. He also makes Steranko to fall into the vat of mutagen which causes Steranko to turn into Rocksteady.

Appearance

As Chris Bradford: Bradford is tall, muscular and has a dark brown beard.

As Dogpound: Dogpound has orange fur over the majority of his body, and white fur on his palms and stomach area. His most notable features includes large, jagged spikes running up his spine. He also has spikes protruding from his left shoulder. His right hand is completely encrusted in the same material as his spikes were - and could be effectively used to block attacks from swords, sai, etc. There is also a notable difference in the size of his two arms; His left arm is much larger than his right one, and his right arm is quite a bit shorter and smaller than his left. He still wears the pants of his original human suit, though they are torn at the cuff of the pant legs.

As Rahzar: Rahzar's body is long and very bony, appearing similar to a skeletal 'werewolf' that has slightly darker fur with more of a silver tone, a longer snout with larger teeth, and his hands appear to be made entirely out of bone.

Personality

Chris Bradford is shown to be selfish, self-centered, arrogant, and manipulative. He cares only for two things; himself, and impressing Shredder. He refused to work with Xever, because he was poor, meaning Bradford has little respect for anyone who lives a lower status than he does. This also shows when he reveals his true colors to Mikey.

As Dogpound, he is very determined, always looking for ways to make his master proud and defeat the Turtles.

As Rahzar, he is a deadly bloodthirsty beast who is a force to be reckoned with but he retains his original personality.

Bio

One Part Man, One Part Mutt, Dogpound and Rahzar are all evil! Both mutated by The Kraang from martial artist master Chris Bradford, this razor-backed brawler's been reborn 2 times with biting and fighting that'll rival any of the Turtles he faces. Fiercely loyal to The Foot Clan, Dogpound is off his leash and ready to tear into anyone who is foolish enough to face him. Though not exactly a man's best friend after coming in contact with the Ooze all over again, Dogpound is mutated into a faster, stronger and more powerful hound. With his fierce hatred for the Turtles and loyalty to Shredder, Rahzar's newfound strength makes him a bigger threat to the Turtles.

Abilities, Skills, Weaponry and Powers

Death Dragon and Ninjutsu: He knows this certain move that Shredder taught him that was used against Splinter as Yoshi.

Teaching: He has to be great teacher to his students and including to Mikey to teach them this forbidden skill.

Athletics: His abilities like his strength, stamina and endurance is so great he could be greater then an athlete. Even his speed was great as an athlete.

Antique Katana: He is shown to have a katana that is about 3 thousand years old.

Enhanced Sences: As Dogpound, he has great sense of smell that he was able to find Stockman's lab and being able to hear that he was able to hear April and the Turtles talking. As Rahzar, his strong sence of smell is stronger as he was able to smell Zack in the Shredder lair and able to get close to his target until the track get weaker. Quite possible have night vision since his eyes glow in the dark.

Enhanced Strength: As Dogpound, he can use his larger arm to use a car as melee weapon. As Rahzar, he is said to be stronger but hasn't fully shown it yet.

Enhanced Speed: As Dogpound, he isn't very fast becuase of his heavy weight. As Rahzar, he can run munch faster then before munch faster then the Turtles.

Acrobatics: As Dogpound, his reflexes are very well able to grab his opponents from behind his back to throw them. As Rahzar, he is more agile and flexible than before after loosing all his weight. He able to jump high as Tiger Claw.

Sharp Claw Projection: He can shoot his deadly claws to attack.

Wall Climbing: He can climb on buildings with his sharp claws.

Intelligence and Communication: He shown to have his intelligence as human and has retained it due to his mutations. He can still growl, wine, and roar while talking in a deeper-than-fear voice.

Stamina and Endurance: As Dogpound, his stamina is very high as he could be able to chasing, fighting and anything for much longer then he could before as taking some hits from the Turtles as human. His spikes can defend his body from the Turtles attacks. His endurable body can take explosion to survived without showing any type of wounds. As Rahzar, he is more powerful than before he is able to fight off Mikey and the others three Turtles he even got electrified himself and the second time from the water to knock himself out.

Character Interactions

Trivia

His helmeted appearance seems to be inspired by that of the Shredder in the original comics.

There is a real Chris Bradford who has written a book series called Young Samurai. Incidentally he is a martial artist with a black belt in many disciplines.

Dogpound/Rahzar is played by Clancy Brown, who is well known for playing villains (like Wolf from Gargoyles, Kenko the Shapeshifter from Ben 10 , Lex Luthor from Superman: The Animated Series, and Taskmaster from Ultimate Spider-Man) in both Live action and Animation but also characters like Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants and General Ross/Red Hulk in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

Dogpound's boney spikes may stem from the fact that normal Akitas are rumored to have armoured fur. It also could be the fact he was bitten by a dog. The teeth DNA could have gave him spikes.

In the season 2 finale he is showing howling in the moon like an actual wolf.

He is the first seen Super Mutant in the series.

His character is based on one of Shredder's two "super mutants" from the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, the other being the mutant snapping turtle Tokka, who has not been mentioned to appear in this series.